The prison the Princess found herself in was missing some of the key elements that typified the prisons of her imagination. When still young she had dreamt up fantastic stories of adventure and intrigue often in tandem with her partners in crime- Ty Lee and Mai. Many adventures had brief stopovers in horrific Earth Nation prisons from whence they would be required to conduct dashing and skillful escapes.

But in this moment she was not with the people that she'd imagined she would have by her side- they were instead traitors who chose prepubescent bald children over lifelong friends.

The dungeon lacked the howling screams of the sickly, the strange drips from unidentifiable sources, the clanking that had no purpose and the rotting decay of long forgotten prisoners. But their absence did little to comfort the Princess, who wanted every small distraction that she could muster to avoid the fact that, for the first time, she was defeated, abandoned and alone.

Iroh found his niece standing in the middle of her unlocked cell with her back perfectly straight and her hands behind her back as if at attention. He found the sight less disturbing by reminding himself who he was dealing with. Azula specialized in putting her enemies off balance, even in her self-confinement she still exuded an aura of control.

He realized that her eyes were tracking his movements as he approached- the rest of her body remained unaffected. It appeared that the first words were left to him. "I wished to see how you were. As nice as this prison is- it is not the place for a young woman to spend her days."

"While not a place for royalty, I will remain here nonetheless until the commencement of my trial." Azula's tone held no emotion, as if reading from a pre-prepared parchment.

"There will be no trial, Azula." Iroh's face began to show signs of regret and sadness his features bogged down by past regrets.

Azula's tone examined the words as she spoke them, feeling them out. "Then I will be executed without a trial." Iroh's eyes widened at this, his brow furrowing as if he didn't know what to say. "To be honest I did not think Zuko would break tradition so visibly. It is not as thought I expected a fair trial but..."

"There will be no execution Azula; Zuko would not do such a thing. You fought against the Avatar but you did so under the command of your father and Lord... and you are his sister."

A sharp laugh escaped Azula's stoic fortification, finding the situation charmingly ironic. "Ah- banishment. Well I must say that it is fitting in a way. The banished princess. I suppose it will give me time to reflect- write my memoirs. Will I be tasked with capturing some arbitrary mythical figure also? A unicorn perhaps? Or maybe the Golem Lord?"

Iroh took time to pick his words carefully, the pain he felt but did not see from the Princess tore at his soul. Such bitterness and betrayal in one so young, he now saw his part in creating a turmoil perhaps equaling that found in the young Prince that he had charged himself with guiding.

"Fire Lord Zuko wishes that you would come out of this cell. He has committed to pardoning you of all actual or perceived wrongs."

Fury filled Azula's eyes, her patience was beginning to wear thin. "Really- and you are his messenger boy? Surely you have earned a better role with your treachery than that Uncle."

"I came because I believed I could convince you, and because I wanted to show you that you are not alone."

Azula stood unmoving, she was unsure as to how to respond to such a statement.

Iroh continued his explanation. "We both know that Zuko suffers from stubbornness at the best of times. He sees your stay here as a petty attempt to force him to come to you in order to offer his pardon and, as such, will not give in. I know that you are here because you believe this is where you would have been taken regardless, and you would not allow such a victory to be savored by your opponents."

The only flicker of acknowledgment came as Iroh touched upon Azula's motivations for her self-imprisonment. The Princess had underestimated her Uncle for so long that it was off-putting to hear a reminder that he was in fact a keen strategist. Azula admitted within herself that she had fallen into arrogance- she would need to better evaluate enemies from here on out.

As Azula spoke she unconsciously stroked an invisible hand sized mark on her lower back. "Very well, I will speak with my brother."